Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Yale Papyrus Collection

Dennis Michael Quinn

Dennis Michael Quinn is a distinguished, internationally recognized scholar of American religious history who has spent over 25 years exploring the religious, social and political dynamics of Mormon history. His work on Joseph Smith and the founding of the Later Day Saints established links between Mormonism and broader patterns of early American culture and religious life. In doing so he illuminated not only Mormon beliefs but the folkways that informed mainstream American religions of the early 19th century. Mr. Quinn’s work on the Mormon hierarchy and individual Mormon leaders has rendered visible the social and political ties that bound the Mormon community, helped it thrive amidst persecution, but also contributed to its parochial character. In recent years he has explored issues of sexuality and gender among the Mormons.

Selected Publications:J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years (Brigham Young University Press, 1983).Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Signature Books, 1987). A revised,enlarged edition was published in 1998The New Mormon History: Revisionist Essays on the Past, edited by D. Michael Quinn(Signature Books, 1992)The Mormon Hierarchy:Origins of Power (Signature Books, 1994)Same-sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-century Americans: A Mormon Example(University of Illinois Press, 1996)The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power (Signature Books in association withSmithResearch Associates, 1997)Elder Statesman: J. Reuben Clark, Ambassador and Counselor (Signature Books,2002)